January 21, 2023 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- The Russian military says that it has launched offensive operations in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and "taken more advantageous lines and positions". (France 24)
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Tigray War
- Tigrayan peace process
- Eritrean forces withdraw from Shire and other major towns in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. (Reuters)
- Tigrayan peace process
- 2022–2023 Peruvian political protests
- Peru indefinitely closes its iconic Machu Picchu historic site due to the ongoing unrest which has killed dozens of people. Around 500 foreign nationals are currently stranded in Peru. (BBC News) (AFP via France 24)
- Islamist insurgency in the Sahel
- Burkina Faso demands that French forces withdraw from its territory after suspending a 2018 military accord that allowed the presence of French troops in the country. The ruling military junta has given France one month to complete the withdrawal. (Reuters)
- Yemeni Civil War
- Six people are injured after a bomb explodes in al-Majaza, Shabwah Governorate, Yemen. (Middle East Monitor)
Arts and culture
- Japan wins the 2023 World Pastry Cup in Chassieu, Lyon Metropolis, France. (AFP via The Philippine Star)
Business and economy
- International sanctions during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- RT France, the French arm of the Russian state media network RT, ceases operation following the freezing of their bank accounts by the Direction générale du Trésor. (AFP via News18)
International relations
- Sweden–Turkey relations
- The Turkish defense ministry cancels Swedish defense minister Pål Jonson's upcoming visit to Turkey in response to an approval for far-right extremist Rasmus Paludan to protest in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. (AFP via The Jordan Times)
Law and crime
- 2023 Monterey Park shooting
- Ten people are killed and ten others are injured in a mass shooting at a dance studio after Lunar New Year celebrations in Monterey Park, California, United States. The suspect, 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, escapes and later commits suicide. (Los Angeles Times)
Politics and elections
- 2023 Slovak constitutional referendum
- Slovakians head to the polls to vote in a referendum to determine whether early elections can be called before the customary end of the mandate. (AP)
- 2023 Brazilian Congress attack
- Commander of the Brazilian Army Júlio César de Arruda is fired by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the aftermath of the January 8 Congress attack and is replaced by Tomás Miguel Ribeiro Paiva. (AP)
- Tanzanian opposition party Chadema organizes a political demonstration in Mwanza. This is the country's first demonstration since President Samia Suluhu Hassan abolished her predecessor John Magufuli's seven-year ban on political assembly earlier this month. (AFP via VOA)